


A Light in the Woods

by Mertiya



Category: Castlevania (Cartoon)
Genre: Chocolate Box Exchange 2019, Epistolary, Everyone is snarky, Hurt/Comfort, Light allusions to dysphoria, M/M, Multi, Nonbinary Character, Other, Sypha is low-key nonbinary, Threesome, Threesome - M/M/N, partly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-13 15:38:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17490668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mertiya/pseuds/Mertiya
Summary: Traveling with Trevor turns out to be a little lonelier than Sypha expected, but it's not as if they can turn around, can they?





	A Light in the Woods

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Merit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merit/gifts).



> Thanks to Jason for getting me into the show and Zomb and balverine for letting me throw excerpts at him. Hopefully everyone's in character, as I haven't written for these guys before now. Glad I got a chance to scratch my enby Sypha headcanons though.

            Dear Alucard,

           

            I hope you fare well in your beautiful castle with its remarkably existent roof. I had never considered, until recently, just how much I love roofs. True, my people and I are wanderers, but my people are also sensible and, upon sighting a storm cloud on the horizon, do not categorically refuse to seek shelter because, “mumble mumble something unmanly mumble.” In entirely unrelated news, I do apologize if this ink is smudged. It was not chosen to be waterproof, which only shows you how foolish I was when I purchased it.

            I apologize that you will be receiving only a letter from me. I believe Trevor can write, but he did not seem so inclined when I asked him. I also offered to let him dictate a letter for you, and he told me, “suck my dick.” When I refused, he said, “then tell Alucard he can suck my dick.” So I suppose that’s that. I had better stop. The rain appears unlikely to cease and this missive will soon be illegible.

 

            Yours,

 

            Sypha

 

            Dear Sypha,

 

            I am sorry but unsurprised to hear that your traveling companion leaves much to be desired. Perhaps you would consider returning earlier than you had planned. I can offer an assortment of several different amenities, chief among them being a roof. Also, some very nice meals, and intellectual companionship, which I expect you are in dire need of.

            Repairs proceed slowly. I have hired some competent workers and am hardly even necessary to supervise. I am spending more time in the basement, reading through all these marvelous books you probably haven’t read.

            I realize this letter sounds puerile. I suppose I might as well confess: I miss you. I suppose I could even tolerate seeing the face of your rude companion. I am bored and life is lonely without you both.

 

            Yours,

 

            Alucard

 

            Deer Alucard,

 

            Sypha is makeing me rite this. I hate riting but they hert thear hand and wanted me to let you noe. They say not to wurry you handsum well hung stud. We just had a problum with sum bandits but I skared them off no problum except Sypha’s hand is hert. That is everthing.

 

            Suk my dik

 

            Trevor

 

            Dear Sypha and Sypha’s Scribe,

 

            It concerns me to hear that you have already fallen afoul of bandits. I would like to point out that my castle, in addition to possessing a roof, also possesses a set of stout stone walls. Bandits are never invited in, not even for my dinner. Should you choose to return, I would be very happy to offer you a room.

            I understand that you may be too stubborn to accept, of course.

 

            With Concern,

 

            Alucard

 

            Dear Alucard,

 

            Honestly, I assure you that I am largely unharmed. It took no more than a few days for the injury to my hand to heal. Trevor’s pride certainly appeared more injured than my body. I do find myself missing you, though. I keep catching myself remembering our time spent huddled up together, all three of us, in the library as we searched for magical texts. Trevor was more pleasant then as well, although I don’t doubt I am also nearly as much of a sour companion. Day after day of rain and more rain interspersed only with the occasional bandit attack is wearing on both of us.

            Your offer is tempting, but I have not given up on my adventure quite yet! I beg you to have some patience with us.

 

            Thinking of you,

 

            Sypha

 

            Dear Alucard,

 

            I imagine you have not yet had time to receive my previous letter, but I wanted to write again anyway. The oddest thing happened yesterday. The clouds had finally cleared up, and although the landscape was still quite sodden, the sun was shining brightly. It was not the ideal time of day for a bandit attack, but as we had been dealing with them quite frequently, we were on our guard all the same.

            Well, we did not see any bandits, but strangely enough we came upon an entirely empty encampment. There were a few signs of a struggle, where men might have been dragged away, but all the caravans and tents were intact. There was even meat still cooking over the fire! They could not have been long gone, for it was just ready and tasted better than anything I have had in weeks. Even Trevor managed to smile about it, and I have not seen him smile in the better part of three weeks. He is much better-looking when he smiles, and I told him so. Of course, he immediately scowled at me.

            In any case, I hope you are doing well.

 

            Best,

 

            Sypha (and Trevor)

 

             Dear Sypha and Sypha’s smiling pet,

 

            I am pleased to hear that you had a good meal at last. Certainly they seem scarce where you are. The work here proceeds apace, and I remain lonely, but I do not have much else to report. Just that I dreamed of you last night, of the three of us standing beneath the stars and looking up with linked hands. The dream faded quickly.

            I still miss you.

 

            Alucard

 

            Dear Alucard,

 

            I dreamed of a storm last night. Not the incessant, grey rain that seems to follow us everywhere, but a nightmare of shrieking winds and pounding hail. The purple-black clouds crackled with a magical energy. I woke with my heart pounding and Trevor shaking me, demanding to know what was wrong.

            I do not have much else to say, but I miss you too.

 

            Sypha

           

            Dear Alucard,

 

            I dreamed of it again, closer this time. The forest was on fire around us, the flames an eerie purple. Trevor and I huddled together, but there was no way out. We choked to death on smoke as the storm howled above us.

            I begin to be concerned.

 

            Sypha

 

            Dearest Sypha,

 

            Come home.

 

            Love,

 

            Alucard

 

            Dear Alucard,

 

            We are returning. Every night I dream of the storm coming closer. I do not know where it comes from, but I believe it is a disturbance of magical origin, perhaps simply a natural cycle like a normal storm. In any case, it would be most inconvenient for us to be caught outside with no roof. We are quite a distance away, though. I admit that I am irrationally afraid, not so much of the storm itself but that we might die without seeing you again. It is foolish, but I felt the need to confess to it all the same.

 

            Love,

 

            Sypha

           

~

            There was a line of boiling clouds along the horizon. Sypha eyed it worriedly. There was, as yet, no sign of magic in those hanging clouds, but they didn’t know whether it would be visible in the real world, and if it were, whether it would be visible from such a distance. They and Trevor were still at least two days’ travel away from Alucard’s castle, and if that storm on the horizon was the one they had been dreaming about, it was definitely less than two days away.

            “We’d better look for shelter,” Trevor said, striding up beside them and following their gaze. “This isn’t going to be fun.”

            “No,” Sypha agreed, with a sigh. “Should we try the forest, or would that be worse?” The dream of the fire still loomed in their mind.

            “Probably better there than out in the open. The trees will shelter us some. Maybe we can find a woodcutter’s hut or something.”

            With a last sigh and worried glance at the horizon, they acquiesced and followed him. Inside the forest, it was quiet and still. No birds sang; no insects buzzed. Sypha drew themself a little closer to Trevor and took his hand as the two of them walked deeper in.

            The sky grew steadily darker until the forest was almost as dark as a moonless night. Sypha looked up in concern to see that the purple-fringed black clouds were boiling, occasionally crackling across with lightning of different colors. “This isn’t good,” they said. “Remember how I said God hates me? I think God still hates me.”

            “Maybe God hates me instead, did you ever think of that?” Trevor replied, but he pulled them close, throwing his cloak about both of them just as the rain started. There was a lot of rain. One moment the air was clear, the next Sypha’s vision was obscured by what appeared to be a solid sheet of water sluicing downward. At least, they thought, it would be difficult for the forest to catch fire if it were already this sodden, but even Trevor’s thick woolen cloak couldn’t keep out the worst of this, and the two of them were soon soaked through.

            Huddling together, teeth chattering, they put one foot in front of the other, sinking down into mud that had been solid ground until a few moments ago. “Where are we even g-g-going?” Sypha asked miserably after some minutes, their teeth chattering.

            “Uh,” said Trevor. He sighed, his warmth pressing against their arm. “We shouldn’t stop moving, we might freeze to death.”

            “I’ve heard that’s v-v-very peaceful,” Sypha muttered, taking another step through the sucking mud. “I j-just think—”

            BOOM! CRASH! The rain stopped as suddenly as it had started, and a huge bolt of blue lightning tore the sky in half. Sypha screamed and jumped, clutching at Trevor, who was clutching right back. There was a sudden heavy thud near their feet, and Sypha looked down to see a chunk of ice as big as their hand had embedded itself in the ground, still faintly crackling with blue energy. “We need to find shelter _now_ ,” they said urgently to Trevor, who was rubbing at his ears. He tipped his head to one side, and Sypha pointed towards the massive hailstone.

            “Shit,” Trevor said succinctly, looking up into the sky. Sypha followed his gaze and was only just fast enough to drag him out of the way of another huge piece of hail that probably would have crushed his skull. “Run!” they shrieked, grabbing his hand.

            They ran, even though Sypha was certain at this point that it was hopeless; you couldn’t outrun hail. Without a roof to shelter them, they couldn’t avoid it forever; one of them _would_ take a blow to the head and that would be the end of it. Something struck their shoulder, and blinding pain lanced through it. They thought they screamed, but the noise of it was swallowed up in the howling of the wind.

            Trevor’s hand tugged at theirs, and in a single moment of silence they heard him shout, “A light! There’s a light! Come on!”

            “I can’t,” Sypha tried to say. Their shoulder was one giant ball of pain, and it hurt so much that it was hard to breathe. Trevor either didn’t hear them or ignored them, and they were forced to stumble forward, certain they were about to fall over at any minute, certain they couldn’t keep moving their feet like this with their lungs burning and their eyes tearing up. Just as they were certain they couldn’t go any further, they caught their foot on something and pitched forward—

            —into a pair of waiting arms. “Get inside, hurry!” a familiar voice instructed, and Sypha was gathered up, brought into somewhere warm and well-lit, and then they were looking up into Alucard’s worried face. Trevor swore, and somewhere behind Sypha, a door was slammed shut.

            Alucard made to set Sypha on their feet, but his hand jostled their injured shoulder, and they yelped. “What’s wrong?”

            “My shoulder.” In the next instant, Trevor and Alucard were hovering over them, the two men glaring at one another. Sypha winced again, then gave both of them an irritable look. “BOYS, please.”

            “Uh.” Trevor put an embarrassed hand on the back of his neck.

            “I’m so sorry,” Alucard said. “I took too long to build this cottage. If I had been faster—”

            “What exactly are you doing here, anyway?” Sypha demanded, sinking exhaustedly down in a nearby chair.

            There was a pause, and when Alucard spoke again, his voice was tinged with embarrassment. “I—ah—have been following you for a few weeks now. The work was proceeding well, I was not needed, and I—was lonely. When you began to have dreams, I—started work on constructing this shelter.”

            “It was you, you bastard,” Trevor broke in incredulously. “You killed all those bandits, didn’t you?”

            “I didn’t think you needed any _more_ trouble,” Alucard said frostily. “And I did not want to receive another practically illegible letter.”

            Sypha laughed, then whimpered as the laughter sent another twinge of pain through their injured shoulder. “Can you not argue?” they asked. “I could use…”

            “Sorry,” Trevor said. “Can we get your shirt off?”

            “I suppose you’d better,” they said sourly. At least it was a shirt with buttons down the front, which meant they weren’t going to have to lift their shoulder at any point in the proceedings. Alucard undid their cloak and slipped it off, and Trevor unbuttoned the shirt with a level of care that never ceased to surprise Sypha when he displayed it.

            It was warm enough in the hut—the yellow flickering glow of firelight kept back the darkness of the storm outside—but Sypha still flinched a little as their shirt came off, feeling vulnerable as their skin and breast bindings were exposed.

            “Well, you’re not bleeding,” Trevor said. “Your shoulder looks like a pumpkin, though.”

            “We might bind it up,” Alucard suggested. “Can you move it at all?”

            “I would rather not,” Sypha said grimly.

            “If it’s dislocated, it will need to be replaced,” Alucard said. “If it’s _broken_ —”

            “Then we should bind it up and not touch it,” Trevor agreed.

            “I don’t want you touching it,” Sypha said sharply, knowing they were being childish but also feeling rather faint with the pain.

            “I could…” Alucard trailed off, and then pulled a face. “If I bit you in the shoulder, the saliva would probably dull the pain and we could check more easily.”

            “If you _bit_ me?” Sypha half-shrieked.

            “Vampire saliva does have analgesic properties,” Trevor agreed. “It’s probably a good idea, assuming his isn’t too weak.”

            “ _Weak?_ ”

            “Well, you are only a half-vampire,” Trevor said with a grin.

            “Ugh.” Another twinge of pain had Sypha trembling again. “Fine. Please. Anything.”

            “You’re sure?” Alucard asked seriously.

            “ _Owwwww_!”

            “That means yes,” Trevor put in helpfully.

            “All right.” He bent awkwardly over them, and Sypha shrieked with renewed pain as his fangs broke their flesh.

            “I thought you said it wouldn’t hurt!” Trevor exclaimed, sounding worried.

            “Mo, mph mphed mph mphod _mph_ mphing!”

            Sypha moaned dizzily, but there was a pleasant warm numbness spreading through their shoulder now, after the first shock. They breathed raggedly as the pain flared once more and then calmed beneath the numbness, and then they found that they were flopping forward a little, their head resting against Alucard’s shoulder.

            “There. See?” Alucard’s hand rested on their head gently for a moment. “Now let’s see what’s wrong.” Trevor’s large hands were on their shoulder first, squeezing in a way that felt very peculiar, but not painful.

            “It’s dislocated all right,” he said after a moment. “I don’t think it’s broken, although it’s bruised to hell. Hold them still, I’ll pop it back in.”

            “Don’t look,” Alucard said gently, and Sypha was too tired to snipe that they didn’t need to be babied. Trevor’s hands moved again, and there was a really peculiar grinding sensation that almost certainly _should_ have hurt, and a sense of a relieved tightness that Sypha hadn’t realized had been pulling at their shoulder. They slumped with a sigh of relief against Alucard’s hands.

            “Might still want to bind it up,” Trevor said thoughtfully. “I’m not sure, though.”

            “Just leave it for now,” Sypha said exhaustedly. “I just—I just want—” What _did_ they want? Now that they were able to think a bit, without jarring waves of pain traveling up to their brain—“we missed you,” they told Alucard. “A lot.”

            “Speak for yourself,” growled Trevor, but he moved in behind them, not quite touching Alucard, but close to it.

            “You didn’t have to leave,” Alucard said calmly.

            “And you didn’t have to stay!”

            “Well, I—”

            “You were pining for us,” Trevor smirked. “You were pining for both of us so hard you flew out into the _woods_. You killed a bunch of bandits for us.”

            “I was not pining!” Alucard said, but his cheeks bore a tinge of pink.

            “I think you may have been pining,” Sypha told him, and—just to test this theory, of course—they took the long-fingered hand that had been resting on their head and brought it to their mouth instead, kissing the tips of the fingers and then sucking the index finger inside entirely. Alucard made a soft, throaty noise.

            “How come _he_ rates gentle kisses?” Trevor complained.

            “Oh, you want a kiss?” Alucard asked. He moved rapidly, cat-like, and Sypha looked up to see he had dragged the surprised-looking forward and was practically devouring his mouth. Trevor was stiff as a board; just as he began to relax, Alucard pulled back, panting, and said, “All right. There may have been some pining. A little.”

            Pause. Beat. Then Trevor spoke again, “I don’t think I’ve fucked two people at once in five years. Hope I haven’t forgotten how.”

            Sypha coughed and sputtered wildly. “You don’t think you’re jumping the gun a little?”

            “At _this_ point? You practically offered him a blow job a minute ago.”

            “Um.” Sypha felt their cheeks getting warm. “I mean, I’ve actually never…uh…”

            Embarrassed cough from Alucard.

            “ _Seriously?_ ” Trevor demanded. “God, I can’t tell if that’s precious or sad.”

            “I would not object,” Alucard said, sounding stiff and as if he were attempting to be dignified. “But I also would not insist.”

            “I mean if you’re up to it and Sypha’s not I don’t mind—”

            “I didn’t say that, exactly.” They hunched their shoulders. “I just wasn’t exactly, um, I wasn’t meaning to, um…”

            “We’ll have to be gentle with their shoulder,” Alucard pointed out. “And there are certain other considerations.”

            “I have condoms!” Trevor said cheerfully. “Also I promise I don’t have syphilis.”

            “That’s…very specific. Thank you, Trevor,” Alucard replied dryly.

            “I’m just saying, the bed’s over here and it doesn’t even look terrible.”

            “I may have liberated it from a nearby inn.” Alucard looked a little embarrassed. “I was planning on returning it after the storm was over…”

            “Well, c’mon, if you want.” Trevor heads over and sprawls himself down across it. “I make a shitty teacher, but sex isn’t really difficult to learn.”

            Sypha and Alucard exchanged looks; then he put out a hand to them. They took it, bending to kiss the knuckles, and then let him help them carefully to their feet and escorted them over to the bed as well. Trevor grinned at both of them, looking entirely different from the sullen traveling companion Sypha had been putting up with for the past several weeks. But then, they thought, they probably hadn’t been terribly pleasant themself. Sypha let Alucard help them onto the bed, and Alucard sat as well, between them and Trevor.

            “So…” Sypha said awkwardly. “How exactly do we…?”

            Alucard put his hands tentatively on their waist.

            “Good start,” Trevor said approvingly, leaning forward to kiss Alucard’s ear and then his chin. “Seriously, just do what comes naturally.” Alucard twisted his head around and gave Trevor something of a look that Sypha couldn’t quite see. “Miiiinus the teeth, right…okay. So not _everything_ that comes naturally, maybe. Just get your clothes off. Fucking hell.”

            Alucard grinned as if he had proved his point, carefully stripping off his shirt and standing up to divest himself of his trousers. He was beautiful all over, Sypha thought, their mouth only a little bit open as they raked their eyes up and down him. “Damn,” said Trevor in a hushed voice, apparently agreeing with the assessment. “You have the nicest ass I’ve seen in years.”

            Smirking, Alucard twirled, his golden hair swinging lazily with the rest of him as he did so. His prick, Sypha noted with some interest, was already red and swollen. They bit their lip.

            “I feel inadequate,” Trevor grumbled.

            “Me too,” Sypha agreed faintly.

            “Absurd,” Alucard said, sounding exasperated but fond. “Both of you had better disrobe as well, hadn’t you?”

            “Have I mentioned I feel inadequate?” Trevor demanded, but he got up and pulled off shirt and then pants. He was stockier than Alucard, his chest and stomach covered in wiry, dark hair. And he was also hard, his prick thicker and a little shorter than the other’s. Sypha realized to their shock after a moment that the two men were both looking at them. “Um, do you mind if I leave these on? I don’t like…” their hands hovered above their flattened breasts.

            Trevor’s face dropped just a little, but Alucard’s didn’t change. “Whatever makes you most comfortable,” he said smoothly, and Trevor, to his credit, nodded at that.

            “Thanks.” Sypha slipped off their trousers as well. They all sat back down on the bed. “Now what?”

            Long-suffering sigh from Trevor. “I’d say ‘now we fuck,’ but apparently that’s not specific enough for you idiots. Get up,” he told Alucard. “On your knees.” Alucard blinked at the imperious tone of voice but did as he was told.   “Good boy.” Trevor smirked and swatted his ass, and Alucard gave him a poisonous glare. “Christ, what?” Trevor whined. “It’s a nice ass. Don’t rip my throat out.”

            Alucard bared his teeth, rumbling briefly in a way that reminded Sypha of nothing so much as an irritable wildcat, but he settled, as Trevor dug a bottle out of his pack that Sypha hadn’t seen before and then scratched his hand down Alucard’s back, nails extended. It looked painful, but Alucard tipped his head back with a harsh breath that did not look exactly pained. The next instant, as Trevor pushed a finger into him, he gave a soft grunt that did sound a little pained.

            “Sypha, for god’s sake do something with his cock, will you?” Trevor said irritably.

             “What should I do?” they asked a little doubtfully.

            “Use your goddamn imagination, why don’t you!”

            Sypha rolled their eyes at Trevor, but put a hesitant hand on Alucard’s prick, and stroked it gingerly up. They were rewarded with a sudden soft noise from Alucard, and, feeling a little bolder, moved slowly in to kiss him, long and slow. He put a gentle hand on their waist and drew them against him. His flesh was a little cool to the touch, but not strikingly below what Sypha might have expected.

            He made a soft noise into Sypha’s mouth, and Trevor, sounding rather breathless, said, “Yeah, good, you’re doing good.”

            The hand on Sypha’s waist tightened, and then another long-fingered hand slipped down between their legs. They’d touched themself down there before, not too infrequently, but it was different to have someone else doing it. He was a little clumsy, but it was still enough to make them squeak and bit down on his lower lip. Alucard laughed at the nip, and then groaned. “ _Trevor._ ”

            They were supposed to be touching him. They’d almost forgotten. Sypha moved their hand again, carefully, gently, up and down. Alucard moved his, and in a few minutes they were moaning and rocking against it.

            “Take this.” Trevor dropped something into Alucard’s lap, and he and Sypha just stared at the little translucent membrane. “Oh, God’s sake, I’ll put it on him, you two are useless.” His hands appeared over Alucard’s waist, and he slipped it over Alucard’s dick in a few swift motions, batting Sypha’s hand out of the way. “There. Now you can ride him without worrying about kids.”

            Heat rose to Sypha’s face, and they were barely able to look up at Alucard. “Do…do you want me to…?”

            He made a sudden hissing noise, rocking back against Trevor, pressed so closely against his chest that Sypha was positive Trevor had to be inside him now. Then he blinked dazed golden eyes at them, smiled a surprisingly tender smile, and said, “If you would like.”

            Sypha bit their lower lip and nodded, cheeks still warm. Clumsily, they got onto their knees and, even more clumsily, maneuvered themself into Alucard’s lap.

            “Here.” Trevor’s head appeared over Alucard’s shoulder; he kissed Alucard on the cheek and then slipped his hands past Alucard, putting one hand on Sypha’s hip to guide them and the other on Alucard’s prick. Between the two of them, Sypha found they were able to spread themself open and sink down onto him. It burned a little, and Alucard made a soft, sobbing noise, but he let them have time to settle, their arms around his neck, their face pressed into his shoulder. His hand landed on their head, and they felt his breath warm on their ear as he pulled them close.

            “Are we fucking or not?” Trevor complained. Alucard reached back, and there was a smacking noise. “Ow, Jesus.”

            After another minute, Sypha started to move up and down, slow and unsteady. It felt peculiar but not bad. When someone’s hand slipped down between their legs just above where Alucard was entering them, the burst of sensation sent warmth coiling in the base of their gut, and they gasped and moved faster. A hand tightened in their hair; they clutched at Alucard’s shoulder, and at Trevor’s. Judging from the steady stream of obscenities issuing from Trevor’s mouth, they weren’t the only one moving.

            It was hard to keep track, though. Everything was a whirlwind of warmth and sensation. There were hands on their waist and head and sometimes back. There were lips on their cheeks and mouth, and there was Alucard inside and Trevor in front of them, and warmth everywhere. And they were safe, and finally everyone was here. It wasn’t just two of them anymore. Sypha hadn’t realized how much they had missed Alucard until now. As fingers worked delicately inside them, the pulsing ball of warmth in the base of their stomach unraveled and bloomed throughout their body, and they shook and cried out and pressed themself against Alucard’s shoulder with someone’s hand in their hair holding them.

            They were suddenly very tired, and their shoulder was aching a little again as they slumped forward against Alucard. After a moment, he helped them get up and lie down, fuzzily. Whatever he and Trevor were doing now sounded more energetic than before, but Sypha lay and watched them through tired, half-open eyes, just bathing in their presence and the warmth inside them. After a moment, they glanced across the little hut to where they and Trevor had entered maybe an hour or two ago.

            Golden sunlight was filtering in from the cracks around the door. The storm was over.


End file.
